Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it?

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by HenryKissinger on Thursday October 14, 2021 @11:46PM (#28874001)

The Universe has always existed. It does not have a beginning, and it won't have an end. I'm not talking about the 13.4B old Universe we live in. I'm talking about the Universe that came before it. The Universe is cyclical.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by anders_p on Friday October 15, 2021 @02:01AM (#28874792)

Its a nice idea. There'd be no ending or beginning to worry about. Everything would be self-contained.

But I don't believe that our universe is neither unique, neverending, or cyclical.

I believe that our universe is just one of many, that exists on a super-dimensional plane (or substrate - not sure what word to use), where 'universes' continously appear and disappear, like bubbles in boiling water.

Every one of these universes will have different sets of laws, or rather, the laws will be tweaked differently, depending on the exact conditions of how they form.

Most will not be valid. They will 'pop' or implode near instantaneously. Some will not have the right values for constants like gravity and speed of light.

But every once in a while, there will be a universe where the laws are just perfect for what we see in our universe. A place where stars and planets can form. Where the right elements appear, and life as we know it is possible.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by bserge on Friday October 15, 2021 @02:35AM (#28874970)

OK, now where did this superdimensional plane come from, how was it formed? Or was it always there and always will be? That's what OP was saying I believe.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by anders_p on Friday October 15, 2021 @10:14AM (#28877894)

I have no idea where that substrate, or whatever, came from, or 'who' created it.

I wasn't trying to answer that.

I'm aware that my comment merely added an additional layer, between us and "the creator"/creation, (however you define that).

My point was more, that I don't believe our universe is unique, as in "alone". But rather that it is just one of many.

That some "God", or event, didn't create a single universe, perfect for (human) life. That's way too antropocentric for me.

Instead I believe that they are plentiful, and by chance one of them happened to be suitable for life as we know it.

We are not here because a universe _was created for us_.

We are here because a universe _could produce us_.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by mensetmanusman on Friday October 15, 2021 @01:04PM (#28880105)

I like the thought experiment of exploring the entire universe with advanced space travel and finding no other life (statistically a zero chance if the universe isn’t anthropocentric).

But of course it’s unfortunately impossible to know due to space time limits.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by tomrod on Friday October 15, 2021 @12:00AM (#28874112)

A poetic, yet unproven, conjecture

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by achillesheels on Friday October 15, 2021 @02:25AM (#28874929)

An unfalsifiable one at that. Unless it is possible to perceive a world independent of light?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by tomrod on Friday October 15, 2021 @06:57AM (#28876429)

Close your eyes. Touch the ground. You have now perceived a world independent of light.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by achillesheels on Friday October 15, 2021 @09:07AM (#28877274)

Sir, we are experiencing light through our senses when we touch the ground. Are you familiar with how our bodies sample piezoelectrically?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by tomrod on Friday October 15, 2021 @01:02PM (#28880075)

Piezoelectricity is not photons. It may generate photons, but is not created by photons.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by achillesheels on Saturday October 16, 2021 @02:09PM (#28889988)

And isn’t this generation the only photons that we can experience in the mind with the brain?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by simondotau on Friday October 15, 2021 @04:55PM (#28883032)

False. The memory of light aided your perception.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by mensetmanusman on Friday October 15, 2021 @02:51PM (#28881545)

Unproven (and unprovable)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Spinoza’s God: Einstein believed in it, but what was it? by adrianN on Friday October 15, 2021 @07:02AM (#28876472)

Since time is part of the universe, I'm not sure whether it is meaningful to talk about something that happened before it existed.

[ Parent | on HN ]